Wednesday, November 10, 2010

the husband and i took an early anniversary trip up to big lake state park in northwestern missouri. when we travel to rural parts of the country, i always try to scout things out ahead of time, food-wise. luckily, i saw a restaurant at the location we were staying with great veggie options. however, when we got there, we learned about a recent flood that had done some damage to some of local places - including the restaurant.

the nearest 'town' was about 15 minutes away, with a population of just over 1,000. there was a pizza shop attached to a gas station, and a steakhouse. oh yea, and a mcdonalds. things were looking pretty bleak. i pulled out the droid and found the only other restaurant in the area. granted, it looked as scary as the pizza/gas station joint, but maybe better than our other options. it was call 'the klub' and ended up being quite a rural foodie dream. although when we pulled up, it was a corrugated steel building and scared us shitless, we forged ahead (and there was a full bar luring us in).

after we sat down, the server started to run down the specials, which (as most vegans know) are typically meat based, but she piqued our interest when she mentioned the wild mushroom marscapone cheese ravioli with a creamy port sauce. uh, what?! as it turns out, the owner is actually a chef, and makes almost everything homemade. he uses local foods whenever possible. i asked if he could make a vegan meal off the menu, and they were happy to!

we ordered the bruschetta (no parm) to start. as the husband and i were enjoying an anniversary cocktail, i glanced out the window and saw a women come shuffling out of the restaurant/shed kitchen area. she ran over to the fence line, looked among the many plants and picked a sprig off a purple one, smelled it, and ran back towards the kitchen. i told the husband that i thought it was odd, only to be delighted when our bruschetta was served about two minutes later with a fresh sprig of purple basil. i almost died. an herb garden in the back of restaurant... in mound city, mo? and it was to die for. after the first bite, i realized i needed to be documenting this place for all the vegetarians and vegans in rural northwest missouri. (so half the bruschetta is gone).

the salads came next and were okay (not glamorous), but i could tell they were fresh. and my balsamic vinagrette was definintely homemade. even if it was just a plain jane salad, they make a point of using local produce, so that's some deliciousness on a whole other level.

our meals? the husband ordered the mushroom marscapone ravioli (he's a vegetarian), and they made a fresh veggie pasta with homemade marinara for me. perfect veggie fare for our anniversary. the honey's pasta and sauces were homemade, and it's wild mushroom season in missouri, so i'm sure it was local. although they told me my noodles were't homemade, the chunky marinara was and had some great seasonal veggies. additionally, when they served the bread with our meals, they made a point to tell me they used olive oil instead of butter on the bread.

although the klub isn't a dedicated vegetarian or vegan restaurant, they sure did step up to the plate. the food was good and the attention of the kitchen to our special diet was great. it was like finding a diamond in the rough rural terrain of rural missouri. one anniversary dinner disaster averted!